


Love Flourishes

by Laragh



Series: The Love... Series [2]
Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/F, Going on a date, Non-Supernatural, and then more smut, smut with feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-16
Updated: 2017-08-16
Packaged: 2019-09-29 13:12:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 15,867
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17204042
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Laragh/pseuds/Laragh
Summary: After traveling around the world to find each other, the bedroom is the next destination.





	Love Flourishes

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted @ [The Kitten Board](http://thekittenboard.net/thekitt/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=10548#p720572) in August 2017

  
  
Willow and Tara stood rooted to the spot they'd joined together in, lost to everything but each other.  
  
  
Seconds, minutes or hours could have passed and neither would have noticed. There was no sound but their mouths crashing together passionately until the front door slammed shut from a gust of wind.  
  
  
They broke apart with a jolt, lips plump and bruised from the intensity of their kiss.  
  
  
Tara stared at the door for a brief moment, before turning back. Willow looked up to her at the same time.  
  
  
Tara slipped her hands into Willow’s and Willow felt that zing of electricity shoot through her. The same one she'd felt when she'd closed her eyes and night and allowed herself to imagine Tara was beside her, except magnified times a thousand.  
  
  
She felt like there was so much to say, so much to process. Though her mind usually whirred at lightning speed ahead of the rest of her, right now her body was the one screaming. Talking could wait.  
  
  
Willow moved in as if she was about to kiss Tara, and Tara had even begun to close the gap again, but instead, Willow faked her out. She bit the air in front of Tara's lips and heard the quietest whimper fall from them. Leaning in so the tip of her tongue _just barely_ brushed against Tara's upper lip, she then turned towards the staircase behind them. She reached a hand back wordlessly and began walking up.  
  
  
As soon as Tara’s hand hit hers, they both sprinted up those stairs like they were running from fire. When Willow entered her bedroom, she immediately spun around and stepped up to Tara, close enough to make her back up and shut the door behind them.  
  
  
“You don’t know how much…” Willow breathed, “…I have longed for your lips.”  
  
  
“I think…” Tara replied, moving her hands around to cup Willow’s rear, “…I have an idea.”  
  
  
Willow felt her stomach drop somewhere decidedly lower. She took Tara’s lips greedily, hungry for every bit of the sweet press of her mouth.  
  
  
Tara squeezed Willow’s ass through the thin material of her linen pants. It was so easy to feel the line of her panties, boyshorts Tara guessed, and the quarter-inch stretch of buttocks where the lining stopped and the curve of skin was exposed.  
  
  
She pushed off the door and lifted Willow up all in one fell motion. Willow didn’t hesitate to wrap her legs around Tara’s hips, trusting her completely.  
  
  
Tara brought Willow over to the bed and leaned over to drop her gently. Willow spread her arms out on the smooth covers.  
  
  
“Thank god I made my bed this morning.”  
  
  
Tara’s lips curled on one side, with an undeniable sultry undertone.  
  
  
“Shame we’re gonna mess it up.”  
  
  
Willow grabbed Tara’s face again and brought her close.  
  
  
“You need to get my word-of-the-day app and relearn the definition of ‘shame’.”  
  
  
“God I’ve missed you,” Tara said emphatically before letting their lips re-join as she climbed over Willow.  
  
  
She straddled Willow and ground herself down a little against Willow's pelvis.  
  
  
Willow knew a dark spot would be forming on her underwear and probably her pants if she didn't get them off soon. As an incentive, she brought her hands to Tara's belt and snapped it open. It worked because Tara's hands quickly moved to pop the buttons that held Willow's pants up. There was no shake as they were popped, _one, two, three_ , and then the material was rushing past Willow's legs, forgotten, and Tara set eyes on the damp patch that had indeed flooded Willow's panties.  
  
  
“I was right,” Tara mused, hooking a finger under the waistband, “Boyshorts.”  
  
  
Tara snapped the fabric in place, then leaned down and pressed her face into the front of Willow's underwear. More arousal seeped through, and Tara's nose hit her where she was most sensitive.  
  
  
“Shit!” Willow gasped, not expecting it.  
  
  
She glanced down and watched as Tara took the decorative buttons on the front of her panties in her mouth and tugged down. The cool air against her wet core made her shiver and was only made worse when it was replaced with Tara's warm breath.  
  
  
Tara kissed her triangular patch of hair, too close and not close enough all at once. Her head bumped the blouse Willow was wearing upwards as her lips trailed in the same direction. Tara kissed between the swell of Willow's breasts but the bunched blouse and the bothersome bra were just too much coverage to content with.  
  
  
Willow had the same thought and started fighting with her top to get it over her head. Her back arched in her attempts, giving Tara the perfect opportunity to reach under and unsnap the bra. She pushed it up to join the blouse and just couldn't resist the bared breasts. Her mouth descended on them, despite the fact that Willow was being held captive by her blouse; head and arms jumbled up in a mess of material.  
  
  
Willow couldn't help moan despite her predicament; Tara's mouth was warm and her tongue was soft and Willow's nipples were just growing tauter and tauter beneath them.  
  
  
Willow resigned herself to her fabric prison and didn't even care that much, as long as Tara's mouth kept doing what it was doing.  
  
  
Which it did, for long enough to make Willow moan and writhe uncontrollably, until suddenly it wasn't anymore. Willow whimpered a bit at its loss, but only until Tara suddenly freed her from her blouse and allowed her arms movement again.  
  
  
“Hiding from me?” Tara teased with playful eyes and a crooked smile and Willow could have melted into a puddle on the spot because, _damn, she just loved this woman so much._  
  
  
She grabbed the back of Tara's neck and gently pulled at the curling hairs there to bring her down to kiss. As their bodies lay flush, it became very, very obvious that Willow was completely nude and Tara was very, very not.  
  
  
Willow kissed Tara until she couldn't breathe, finally pulling away with a pop.  
  
  
“Do you believe in equality in a relationship?” she asked breathlessly.  
  
  
“Of course,” Tara replied, with the barest hint of a stutter and a crease of concern etched across her brow.  
  
  
Willow pulled Tara's top from her loosened jeans.  
  
  
“Then strip.”  
  
  
Tara glanced down at herself, then back up to Willow, a grin slowly spreading across her face.  
  
  
She sat back on her heels so she was straddling Willow again and began popping open the buttons on her shirt. She watched as Willow's eyes grew more and more excited until she brushed the sides away, only for a groan to be produced when she revealed she had a tank top underneath.  
  
  
“Layers, my mortal enemy,” Willow muttered.  
  
  
Tara put her arms above her head, accidentally (on purpose?) thrusting her chest out in the process.  
  
  
“Maybe we admit defeat.”  
  
  
Willow took her chance and sat up, stripping Tara of every layer until their bare chests had free reign to heave together unrestricted.  
  
  
They fell back into a lying position but Willow rolled on top so she could finally rid Tara of those deliciously tight but still entirely too concealing dark jeans. As Tara's thighs came into view, Willow suddenly became drunk with memory and anticipation of just how wonderful they felt clamped around her ears.  
  
  
“Oh god, Tara,” she moaned, her voice and hands shaking as she desperately ripped Tara's panties from her body.  
  
  
She bunched them in her hand and lifted them to her nose, gently inhaling that dizzying scent that she'd thought about so often.  
  
  
She couldn't hold herself back; the panties dropped and her mouth fell right between Tara's legs. She didn't even try to tease Tara's thighs or explore her outer lips; her tongue slid into Tara's slick opening and swallowed the sticky mess she'd help make.  
  
  
Tara groaned deeply and thrust her hips up for more.  
  
  
She'd moved across the country just to be with Willow, but right then she would have swum across oceans if it meant Willow never stopped doing exactly what she was doing. A hand tangled in Willow's hair; at first stroking it tenderly, an affectionate and loving moment but as Willow's lips wrapped around her clit, it became desperate and grabby.  
  
  
Willow loved it.  
  
  
Tara couldn't push her in far enough; Willow just wanted as much of the throbbing under her tongue and wetness soaking her face as possible. No amount of Tara could ever be enough, but she'd still strive to take all she could.  
  
  
Just as she'd dreamed, Tara's thigh muscles began to jump against her ears. Willow was overwhelming wet between her legs, but it just made her desire for Tara burn stronger. She continued sucking until all she could hear was her own blood pumping and a muffled, strangled scream version of her name.  
  
  
She felt a gush against her chin and moved her mouth down to lap Tara's opening, pulling everything from her. She began leaving kisses against the pink, sated flesh until the throb between her legs became more pronounced than the lessening throb of Tara's clit.  
  
  
She kissed up Tara's stomach, wiping her mouth along the way so that Tara's softly defined ab muscles retained a glow of sweat and transplanted arousal.  
  
  
When she reached Tara's face, she kissed each corner of her mouth to let her know she was there.  
  
  
She didn't want to rush Tara into attending to her, but Tara — showing impressive strength considering how boneless she'd been moments before — had Willow on her back, spread and filled with her fingers before Willow even had time to gasp her lover's name.  
  
  
Willow's eyes rolled back into her head with pleasure, her hips rising to take her wherever Tara wanted them to go.  
  
  
They'd only done this a few times, and all were contained in one night, but Tara just _knew_ her. Where to touch, how to touch, how long to touch; how to drive her crazy and satisfy her so completely with such apparent ease.  
  
  
Willow was on another plane; one that only had heat and Tara and intense all-encompassing pleasure. Her head was rolling around blindly until she felt Tara's lips settle on hers and the kiss pulled her back into reality, albeit still a hazy one.  
  
  
Her eyes flickered open to see Tara staring back at her and instantly the breath left her lungs. Tara's eyes were filled with love and lust and were just so open to her.  
  
  
Her hands cupped both of Tara's cheeks and she made herself keep her eyes open as she felt herself begin to unravel.  
  
  
She didn't even know whether Tara was inside or outside of her; she just seemed to be everywhere, pulling pleasure with every throb of her heartbeat between her legs.  
  
  
She gasped into Tara's mouth as she finally came, hands tangling at the nape of her neck the exact same way Tara's had in hers.  
  
  
Tara brought her down gently, in direct contrast to their kiss which was burning and needy and took everything they had to give. Finally, they rolled away from each other, though remained close enough that their bodies touched.  
  
  
They lay, limbs flung in various directions, trying to catch their breath.  
  
  
After several long moments, Willow sluggishly rolled onto her side and curled into Tara. She rested her cheek on Tara’s breast and idly toyed with her stiff nipple.  
  
  
Her hand slid down Tara’s stomach where her fingers brushed dangerously close to the hairs of Tara’s mound. She then brought her hand back to cup Tara’s other breast and glanced up to see if Tara was even noticing.  
  
  
She was.  
  
  
She smirked.  
  
  
“Hey, you. Trying to wake me up?”  
  
  
Willow grinned back and turned herself some more so she was on her stomach and half on top of Tara. She reached up and brushed some hair from Tara's cheek, contemplating her face for a moment. She was so beautiful. She loved her so much. And…  
  
  
“I have so many questions.”  
  
  
Tara reached up to twirl some of Willow's hair in her fingers.  
  
  
“I’ll answer all of them,” she replied sincerely, her breath back but cheeks and chest still red.  
  
  
Willow opened her mouth, then closed it again and smiled softly.  
  
  
“Later, maybe? I just want to…feel this.”  
  
  
Tara leaned in and pecked Willow’s lips.  
  
  
“I’m not going anywhere.”  
  
  
Willow kept Tara’s lips on hers for a moment, then pulled back to look her in the eye. She hoped she didn’t look as vulnerable as she felt.  
  
  
“Promise?”  
  
  
“I promise,” Tara confirmed and sealed it with another kiss.  
  
  
Willow trusted.  
  
  
She dropped her head into the crook of Tara’s neck and inhaled her still slightly sweaty skin. She closed her eyes and let her lips drop kisses along Tara’s collarbone.  
  
  
She was suddenly exhausted, feeling the weight of the previous weeks’ lack of sleep and general stress as she awaited a response from Tara.  
  
  
She settled her head above Tara’s breast again, and with her arm loosely draped across Tara’s waist she fell fast asleep.  
  
  


  
  
Less than an hour later, she woke.  
  
  
Her body immediately curled towards Tara; a reflex established already, which was pretty impressive considering she’d never actually woken up next to her before.  
  
  
And as the muffle of sleep left her brain, she realized she wasn’t now either.  
  
  
She shot up in bed and looked all around, completely shocked to find the room empty.  
  
  
This time, Willow was mad.  
  
  
She was pissed.  
  
  
She understood, in Spain.  
  
  
It would have been too hard to wake and say goodbye. She may have even done the same thing if the roles were reversed.  
  
  
She understood why Tara had delayed the letter.  
  
  
Even though those four little words would have gotten her through whatever wait she had to endure, she got it. Tara respected her enough to not offer her half of something and was uprooting her life yet again so they could be together. Leaving her in stasis for a while to achieve that — that was easily forgivable.  
  
  
But this?  
  
  
Leaving her alone, in bed, _again_ , when she thought they’d shared an even more bonded experience of love making— that _hurt_. A flurry of emotions happened in a matter of seconds she’d been awake until a flushing sound suddenly came from the ensuite in her bedroom.  
  
  
Tara came out a moment later, wearing Willow’s white bathrobe and padded across the cool floor quickly.  
  
  
“I borrowed your robe for a sec, I hope you don’t mind.”  
  
  
She slipped it off and laid it down across the end of the bed before sliding back in under the sheet. She shivered as she scooted close.  
  
  
“You’re gonna have to warm me up.”  
  
  
She placed her hand on the base of Willow’s spine with a smile, but it faltered when Willow didn’t react.  
  
  
“Honey?”  
  
  
There was still no response, so Tara sat back up, angled behind Willow.  
  
  
“I’m sorry, should I not have used your robe? I can wash it or replace it.”  
  
  
Willow finally snapped to attention and turned her head to hide her glassy eyes.  
  
  
“No, sorry. No, of course not. You can borrow anything.”  
  
  
Tara could feel the shift and her eyes grew concerned. She placed her fingers so they arched over Willow’s shoulder.  
  
  
“Darling, what happened?”  
  
  
Willow brought her thumb and index finger up to her eyes, cutting off her tear ducts before they betrayed her.  
  
  
It only took Tara a moment to assess the situation and come to a likely scenario.  
  
  
“You thought I’d left,” she said softly.  
  
  
Willow managed to hold back the tears but her back heaving twice as she sniffled gave her away. Of course, Tara would guess right. Willow would have to learn to accept that this kind of love made her an open book.  
  
  
“Oh, my love,” Tara replied gently, which helped Willow none.  
  
  
The tenderness and pet names made Willow all the more emotional. Still, she let Tara gather her into an embrace and sniffled just a couple more times before calming herself. She normally would have felt stupid, but Tara’s arms were big and warm and encompassing her so completely that all she could feel was loved.  
  
  
“I’m so sorry for everything I put you through,” Tara said, sliding her hand up and down Willow’s back, “I’m going to make it up to you.”  
  
  
Willow’s heart was slowly calming to a normal rate. She gently moved them so they were lying together instead of sitting together.  
  
  
“You already have.”  
  
  
Tara kissed the top of Willow’s head.  
  
  
“I love you, Willow.”  
  
  
Willow turned her body and lifted her hand to Tara’s face, trailing one finger down the edge to frame her features. She smiled as she finally got to say those words out loud. She took the time to savor it as they rolled off her tongue.  
  
  
“I love you, Tara.”  
  
  
She angled her head and teased Tara’s lips for a moment before finally kissing her.  
  
  
Tara brought Willow over so their bodies were flush. She bent her knee to hook into Willow’s leg and tangled them together.  
  
  
“Tara…” Willow said softly between kisses.  
  
  
“Yes?” Tara replied though it was almost lost through a moan.  
  
  
Willow veered just slightly off, pressing kisses to the corner of Tara’s mouth.  
  
  
“We don’t have to date, do we?”  
  
  
Tara paused for a moment, processing that.  
  
  
“You mean…No. You don't mean.”  
  
  
She was certain that after all of this that Willow wasn't saying she didn’t want to be together, so she went to the next logical place and assumed Willow wasn't into dates.  
  
  
“Oh,” she said eventually, “Well, um, we don’t have to call them that I guess but it’s nice to spend some time—”  
  
  
Willow cut her off with a kiss.  
  
  
“You misunderstood,” she said, smiling, “We’re going on dates. We’re going on lots of dates. As many as you’ll let me take you, to as many places as you’ll let me show you off.”  
  
  
She pecked Tara’s lips again in reassurance.  
  
  
“I meant, we don’t have to do the ‘dating’ stage…right?”  
  
  
Her cheeks flushed and her tone turned shy.  
  
  
“Are we girlfriends?”  
  
  
Tara grinned and rolled Willow onto her back, pinning her. She winked, but sweetly.  
  
  
“We’ve been girlfriends for a while.”  
  
  
Willow smiled and cupped Tara’s face to bring her in for another kiss.  
  
  
“Yeah. We have.”  
  
  
They kissed some more and exchanged ‘I love yous’ until Willow couldn’t help but start being grabby and changed tack.  
  
  
“Do you know how much I love your breasts?” she whispered as she molded Tara’s flesh and rolled her pebbled nipple, “They’re perfect.”  
  
  
She flipped Tara back onto her back. Her lips trailed down and delicately tasted Tara’s nipple, running her tongue flat along it before suctioning it into her mouth in a tight hold.  
  
  
“Sometimes when I took a shower, I thought about them…and you…and I would…”  
  
  
Her teeth grazed and Tara gasped. Willow kissed back up to Tara’s neck and blew some hot breath against her ear.  
  
  
“Did you?”  
  
  
Tara had to swallow several times to get some moisture back in her mouth.  
  
  
“Y-yes,” she eventually replied through a strained voice.  
  
  
Willow licked Tara’s neck and moved up to kiss her lips.  
  
  
“That’s hot.”  
  
  
Tara resumed her position on top and pressed her hips into Willow’s.  
  
  
“You’re hot.”  
  
  
She palmed Willow’s hip as she slid her body down until her mouth was positioned between Willow’s thighs.  
  
  
Willow tried not to jerk as Tara’s tongue warmed her already hot flesh. She bent her leg to open more, but Tara took a hold of her thigh to keep her close, so Willow paused. A quick glance down told her Tara liked the press of thighs against her ears and also made her gush with arousal.  
  
  
_Oh my god…Tara’s giving me head… in my bed…Tara’s giving me head in my bed…_  
  
  
Her mind was hazy with the pleasure Tara was giving, but for some reason, it started to lift.  
  
  
Willow glanced down again and realized Tara had stopped and was looking up at her, giggling, albeit adorably.  
  
  
“I didn’t know you became Dr. Suess in the bedroom,” Tara teased, lips shining with Willow’s arousal, “Is this where you practiced your poems to me?”  
  
  
Willow’s eyes grew wide. She knew she sleep-talked once in a while and even engaged her mouth without thinking sometimes, but she didn’t think she unintentionally verbalized _while_ thinking like that before.  
  
  
“Uh…” she tried, her brain torturing her, quite ironically, by going blank and sending all her blood to her cheeks, “Uh…”  
  
  
Tara brought herself back up and lay on her side, elbow bent to let her palm support her head.  
  
  
“Let’s see if I can finish this one.”  
  
  
She thought about it a moment, clearly amused.  
  
  
“Willow’s spread, I’m fed…” she started, seductively, then scrunched up her face, “I’m really glad your name’s not Ted?”  
  
  
Willow couldn’t hold onto her embarrassment; she burst out laughing. She covered her face with her hands, then turned to Tara and peeked between her fingers. She couldn’t help it, her self-consciousness was just _gone_. She felt like she’d been lying in bed with Tara for years.  
  
  
“I’m sorry I’m a dork.”  
  
  
Tara took Willow’s hands down and gave her a kiss.  
  
  
“Never be sorry,” she said softly, “I fell in love with that dork.”  
  
  
They kissed again, slower.  
  
  
“I am a dork for what I said,” she said, then dramatically cast her arm aside, “Dignity; I’ve been left without a shred.”  
  
  
Tara lay on top of Willow and held that lazily strewn arm above her head. Her fingertips trailed against the tender skin of the underside of Willow’s arm, making the blood flow hotly in the veins underneath.  
  
  
“I really like that everywhere you’re,” she started, glancing downwards at Willow through her eyelashes, “Red.”  
  
  
Willow turned pink again, which only spurned Tara on. She brought Willow’s hand down and placed it palm-down on the sheet. She stroked the back of Willow’s hand teasingly and brought her mouth to her girlfriend’s ear, whispering evocatively.  
  
  
“You’re going to need to hold on to this thread.”  
  
  
Willow felt a hot drop below her stomach and struggled not to squirm.  
  
  
“You’re good,” she said in an echoing tone as Tara moved back down her body, “You’re very…goooood…”  
  
  
Her eyelids closed softly as Tara got right back to what she was doing before, but was lightly scraping Willow’s thigh instead of just squeezing.  
  
  
_Ooh…that’s…that’s something…mmm…_  
  
  
Willow was so relaxed and so turned on that she was coming in minutes. True to Tara’s prediction, her hand was bunching up the sheet; knuckles white as the fingers tensed through climax.  
  
  
Finally, she released it and let out a soft sigh of satisfaction, just as Tara came up, bringing the blanket with her. She put it over them and snuggled in, which Willow was all too happy to oblige.  
  
  
“We never got to snuggle properly,” she said, putting a hand on Tara’s cheek and using her thumb to wipe Tara’s mouth and chin clean, before popping a kiss on her lips, “This must be rectified.”  
  
  
She slipped a leg between Tara’s and splayed her fingers over her hip, rubbing the bone.  
  
  
Tara moved her head as close as possible on the pillow. She smiled.  
  
  
“You just get cuter the closer I get.”  
  
  
Willow sighed happily.  
  
  
“I can’t believe you’re here. In my bedroom.”  
  
  
“Your room is really nice by the way,” Tara said, casting her eye around, “So is your house. You didn’t do it justice when you described it to me.”  
  
  
“You really only saw my foyer and the staircase,” Willow replied bashfully.  
  
  
Tara lifted the sheet just a tad and peered down, then grinned at Willow.  
  
  
“I saw a lot more than that.”  
  
  
Willow blushed and giggled. Her hand dropped to give Tara’s butt a little squeeze before settling again.  
  
  
Tara relaxed into the spot, in disbelief herself that she got to stare into Willow’s green eyes, so unobstructed and full of love.  
  
  
“Question time?” she asked softly.  
  
  
“Yes,” Willow answered, taking a moment to gather her non-sexual thoughts, “So…Are you here? For…for good?”  
  
  
“Yes,” Tara answered happily, “I’ll have to go back a couple of times to finalize the sales but I’m staying here in town until I get somewhere rented here. I meant it when I said I was offering you all of me. Not a back-and-forth. All of me.”  
  
  
“I’ll take all of you and hold on tight,” Willow replied, moving even closer again and doing just as she said, “Where are you staying?”  
  
  
“My stuff is at Anya’s right now,” Tara explained, “I would have had to pay an extra day to check into the motel early and I didn’t want to delay getting to you so she let me store it there.”  
  
  
Willow’s nose scrunched. Tara seemed pained.  
  
  
“I know you don’t like her, Willow, but she has been a friend to me.”  
  
  
Willow shook her head.  
  
  
“No, not…her. The motel? That sleaze-fest of a building?”  
  
  
Tara tried not to look embarrassed.  
  
  
“It’s Thanksgiving weekend, the hotel is sold out. And it was probably a good thing because the motel is a cheaper base to have if it takes me a couple of weeks to sort out everything. I have some appointments next week for properties. One of them has a store space downstairs and an apartment upstairs. That would be perfect if it's suitable.”  
  
  
“But…the motel…” Willow said in disgust, before realizing how she sounded and quickly changed tack, “You know you can stay with me.”  
  
  
“I don’t want to impose,” Tara said bashfully, “I don’t want you to get sick of me already.”  
  
  
Willow knew that was nonsense but didn’t want to sound dismissive.  
  
  
“Okay but…” she started to reason, “If you came to visit, you would’ve stayed with me for a couple of days, right?”  
  
  
“Yeah,” Tara nodded.  
  
  
“So, just stay for a couple of days,” Willow pleaded hopefully, “Please. Are you really going to go back to a motel tonight and miss out on all this?”  
  
  
She held the sheet open for Tara to have another peek, who giggled, then kissed her.  
  
  
“Thank you. Your bedroom is a lot nicer than the motel.”  
  
  
“A Porta Potty is nicer than that motel,” Willow replied, nose scrunching again but she changed the subject quickly, “So you’re selling the buildings at home, but renting here?”  
  
  
“Yes,” Tara answered with a short nod, happy to move on too, “The house and the store will give me enough to jumpstart the business here and enough saved to hopefully be a deposit for a home someday. My mom would have been happy about that.”  
  
  
Willow smiled at Tara’s smile.  
  
  
“I noticed the flower shop you used to work in is an ice-cream store now.”  
  
  
Tara nodded.  
  
  
“Part of the reason I came back…everything just sort of fell into place.”  
  
  
Willow rested her forehead on Tara’s.  
  
  
“Fate.”  
  
  
“Fate,” Tara answered, pecking Willow’s lips sweetly, “Luckily my business plan transfers pretty easily and I’m hoping that offer for help on the internet side of things is still open.”  
  
  
“Of course,” Willow replied genuinely, “I’ve actually been building a website and a Facebook page and stuff for the store.”  
  
  
Tara looked surprised, which Willow misinterpreted.  
  
  
“Don’t worry, nothing is published or anything. If you have the budget you’ll want to get a professional anyway, but I dabbled in software and website design in college so I just, umm…” she trailed off, blushing, “I can show you if you want.”  
  
  
“Yes, please,” Tara replied, amazed.  
  
  
Willow rolled over to the other side of the bed and opened her nightstand drawer to retrieve her laptop. Tara sat up, letting the sheet rest on her chest and back against the headboard. Willow sat next to her and booted up her computer.  
  
  
She pulled up the unpublished web page she’d built and shyly showed it to Tara.  
  
  
“Those pictures are stunning,” Tara commented.  
  
  
Willow nodded.  
  
  
“I found those a couple of days ago. I put them in as a template just to show you until we can get real ones for your own flowers. But I liked the photos so I looked up the photographer and she’s in-state and reasonable so it might be an idea to hire her when you’re ready.”  
  
  
Tara was touched by a lot of things, not least of which was Willow saying ‘we’ but still deferring completely to her. She just wanted to help, not take over.  
  
  
“You were still working on it a couple of days ago?” she said eventually, “Even when you hadn’t heard from me?”  
  
  
Willow looked sheepish.  
  
  
“Sucker for love, eh?”  
  
  
“You’re not a sucker,” Tara replied, shaking her head, then grinning, “Pretty good licker though.”  
  
  
Willow blushed to her toes, so Tara allowed a change in subject.  
  
  
“I can’t believe you’ve done all this for me. Has it cost you anything?”  
  
  
“Nah,” Willow only slightly lied and pulled up the Facebook page she’d started, “See Facebook is all free, but they charge you if you want to get more people to see your posts. That's how they suck you in. But a good digital marketing class will teach you all of this.”  
  
  
“I’m _definitely_ getting in on one of those,” Tara replied, trying not to feel overwhelmed.  
  
  
“Oh, they do them at the university!” Willow said eagerly, “I can get you the info and make sure you get a nice professor.”  
  
  
Tara leaned in to kiss Willow’s cheek.  
  
  
“Thank you. Really. I’m stunned that you…”  
  
  
“Care this much?” Willow asked softly, “Well get used to it. I love you. I think I’ve loved you since the moment I laid eyes on you.”  
  
  
Tara kissed Willow’s lips this time.  
  
  
“To have this to visualize and work with…and know I have someone who won’t laugh at me if I need help…”  
  
  
“And we’re one step ahead because I’ve already secured ‘The Flower Girl’ username on all the big social media,” Willow said, neglecting to mention a payoff or two she’d given some hipster teenagers for the naming rights, “You’ll probably want some personal profiles too…we could jump the gun and get you started on Facebook if you want. If you start building up your friends, you’ll have more reach when you’re ready to launch the store page.”  
  
  
“Okay,” Tara agreed easily, “You’ll have to help me.”  
  
  
“Of course!” Willow replied, opening up a new tab quickly, “You’ll need an email address. You don’t have one, right?”  
  
  
Tara shook her head.  
  
  
“I had a college one but not anymore, obviously.”  
  
  
“I’ll set you up one real quick,” Willow replied, impressing Tara with the speed of her fingers, even knowing already what they were capable of, “Your name is unusual so you might even get it—yup, there we go! I used your middle initial.”  
  
  
“You remembered?” Tara asked, touched.  
  
  
Willow smiled and nodded.  
  
  
“I thought it was sweet you and your grandma shared a middle name. I wish they’d kept calling you TJ though. I think it’s so cute! Tara Jane is cute on its own, but TJ? Get outta here.”  
  
  
“I grew out of it after five,” Tara reasoned.  
  
  
Willow pecked Tara’s cheek.  
  
  
“Well Tara J Maclay has its own rhyming charm.”  
  
  
She smiled as Tara rested her head on her shoulder.  
  
  
“Okay, I’ve set up dummy passwords, you can change them later. Hey, your birthday. Why don’t I know your birthday?”  
  
  
“October 16th,” Tara answered.  
  
  
Willow’s eyes went wide.  
  
  
“I missed it!” she exclaimed, disappointed, “Why didn’t you tell me?”  
  
  
Tara shrugged one shoulder.  
  
  
“It didn’t seem important.”  
  
  
“Well, it is,” Willow insisted, “I’ll take you out for dinner tonight to make up for it. Where’s your favorite place in town?”  
  
  
Tara didn’t even argue; it was a novelty to feel so cared for and she was going to bask in it.  
  
  
“I like Cielito.”  
  
  
“Cielito it is!” Willow replied cheerily, “Good choice, actually. Great tacos. Although they’re not first date food, but this isn’t our first date, unless you only count the ones on US soil, even though we went out in Spain but that was vacation and we didn’t know if we’d see each other again so it’s a different dynamic and wow that’s a very specific kind of date we’re having.”  
  
  
Tara squeezed Willow’s hand to make her take a breath.  
  
  
“It’s just some food and conversation.”  
  
  
Willow smiled easy.  
  
  
“I love both of those things. Especially with you,” she said sweetly, then turned her attention back to the task at hand, “Oh, we have to pick a profile picture.”  
  
  
“I don’t have any,” Tara replied, her eye line falling on a cute freckle on Willow’s neck.  
  
  
“I have some from Spain,” Willow said, bringing up a folder, “Oh, hey, I have one I really love.”  
  
  
She pulled up her favorite photo, a close up of Tara smelling a beautiful purple flower that Willow knew she’d been given the full history of, but hadn’t absorbed much because she’d spent the time just staring. The purple caught Tara’s eyes and Willow had caught the moment before she looked up, so her eyes were shining with the grin that was tugging and almost, but not quite completely, hidden by the flower.  
  
  
She must have opened it a couple of hundred times since she took it, but it still made her heart skip a beat. She sighed happily.  
  
  
“There’s my flower girl,” she said, gazing at it for a moment, “Can I use this one?”  
  
  
“Whatever you want,” Tara answered, moving to nuzzle the freckle. She was getting into her own little daze.  
  
  
Willow uploaded the picture.  
  
  
“Hey, that’s a good bio. Just ‘The flower girl’. Accurate and on-brand,” she mused, then added sheepishly, “I’ve been reading up on e-commerce. You like it?”  
  
  
“Mmhm,” Tara agreed absently.  
  
  
She was growing distracted.  
  
  
“I’ll add me as a friend to start with…can add others later,” Willow said, humming along as Tara’s lips caressed the skin on her neck.  
  
  
Willow spent a few minutes filling in the relevant information until there was only one section left.  
  
  
“So…” she said casually, “Are you in a relationship?”  
  
  
Willow tried to make out she was teasing but really she was a little nervous.  
  
  
She may have had an ulterior motive in helping Tara make the account.  
  
  
Tara realized Willow was waiting on her.  
  
  
“Sorry?” she asked, sitting herself up.  
  
  
“Are you in a relationship?” Willow prompted.  
  
  
“I hope so,” Tara answered.  
  
  
Willow grinned.  
  
  
“Can I link me? So basically it says you’re in a relationship with me and my profile pops up, and vice versa on my page.”  
  
  
Tara pretended to think about it.  
  
  
“I don’t know if my other girlfriend will like that.”  
  
  
Willow’s mouth hung open in shock for a moment, before she grabbed her pillow and hit Tara smack bang in the face. While Tara was recovering, she pressed the button and shoved her laptop away, out of reach.  
  
  
“It’s done, we’re Facebook official and there’s no coming back from that.”  
  
  
Tara reached in to twirl the ends of Willow’s hair again. She'd often rubbed her fingers together imagining Willow's silken strands were between them.  
  
  
“Is that what this was about? You wanted to show off a little online?”  
  
  
“Guilty,” Willow admitted.  
  
  
Tara smiled a crooked smile.  
  
  
“It’s kinda flattering actually,” she said, placing her palm flat on Willow’s thigh, “And I least I know you weren’t ignoring my advances for nothing.”  
  
  
“You were advancing?” Willow asked with an arched eyebrow.  
  
  
Tara winked.  
  
  
“Like a tiger.”  
  
  
Willow held the sheet away from her and patted her lap.  
  
  
“We’ll c’mere and make me roar.”  
  
  
Tara gracefully slid into Willow’s lap.  
  
  
“That was cheesy.”  
  
  
Willow’s nose scrunched adorably.  
  
  
“You love it.”  
  
  
Tara rested her forehead on Willow’s.  
  
  
“I love you.”  
  
  
Willow ran her thumb over Tara’s lips.  
  
  
“I’ll never get sick of hearing that.”  
  
  
Tara gently nibbled on the skin of Willow’s thumb. Willow grinned.  
  
  
“I like it when you bite.”  
  
  
Tara pressed her lips into Willow’s neck, then scraped her teeth there.  
  
  
“Wait ‘til you see what I can do around here.”  
  
  
She suckled Willow’s neck, delicately leaving a light mark in place. Her hand moved down to Willow’s breast and cupped it firmly, loving how it perfectly fit in her hand.  
  
  
Willow pulled Tara’s hips so her thighs spread over Willow’s lap. She exposed her neck at an even sharper angle so she felt the sweet pull of Tara’s lips on her strained skin.  
  
  
Her palm moved to the base of Tara’s spine, fingertips caressing there in a light tickle. She felt the shiver go through her girlfriend and shuddered back when Tara’s thighs quaked against hers.  
  
  
She raked her nails along the trembling thighs and Tara threw her head back, groaning in pleasure.  
  
  
Willow watched the flush rise on Tara’s chest again and made a skillful knock forward, rolling them so Tara was on her back and upside down, whilst Willow knelt between her legs.  
  
  
She ran her hands along Tara’s thighs again, then down her calves to feel the strong muscles she remembered being there. As her fingers brushed against the tautness, a flash of color contrasting Tara skin on her left calf caught Willow’s eye.  
  
  
She gently twisted Tara’s foot and her eyebrows lifted in surprise when she saw the ink etched in there.  
  
  
Leaves branched out from Tara’s heel and stretched up her shin into a blossoming flower. Willow was taken in by it immediately.  
  
  
“Why didn’t I notice this before?” she asked, rubbing one finger up and down the design, “I know I made a point to kiss you absolutely everywhere in Spain.”  
  
  
“I only got it when I came home,” Tara replied, arching her knee a little so her calf was angled towards them.  
  
  
“You never told me,” Willow replied, hoping she didn’t sound too hurt about it.  
  
  
Tara sat herself up and gently tucked some hair behind Willow’s ear.  
  
  
“It was before I got your first letter. I had the idea on the plane and I just went for it before I chickened out.”  
  
  
Willow smiled at Tara, then back at the tattoo.  
  
  
“It’s a tulip, right?”  
  
  
Tara nodded.  
  
  
“My mom’s favorite flower. Tulips were just…on my mind. I had the image in my head so I sketched it out and brought it down.”  
  
  
“Wow, you designed it?” Willow asked in awe because it really was quite intricate, “I like the shading. It’s unusual. What made you choose it?”  
  
  
Tara shrugged one shoulder.  
  
  
“I dunno…I just liked the blue flower and green leaves mixed together.”  
  
  
Willow’s gaze returned to Tara and blue met green once again.  
  
  
“I think it’s very beautiful,” she complimented sincerely, then added on more shyly, “It’s something I’ve thought about doing too.”  
  
  
“What would you get?” Tara enquired, her hand now playing with the end of Willow’s hair, against the nape of her neck.  
  
  
Willow’s eyes moved downward.  
  
  
“I feel like it’s really lame and nerdy.”  
  
  
Tara lifted Willow’s face by way of a chaste but sweet kiss.  
  
  
“It doesn’t matter as long as you like it. You don’t have to tell me if it’s too personal.”  
  
  
Willow immediately shook her head to indicate that wasn’t true.  
  
  
“Well…I was thinking about a Mobius strip,” she admitted bashfully, “Sort of like a reminder that the only boundary I have is myself.”  
  
  
She rolled her eyes self-deprecatingly.  
  
  
“In the geekiest way possible,” she continued, “I was gonna get it in a rainbow gradient…so geeky and gay. Your girlfriend is geeky and gay.”  
  
  
“And gorgeous,” Tara finished, making Willow's cheeks redden.  
  
  
“I was hoping to be together a bit longer before my geek-infested roots came out.”  
  
  
Tara’s eyebrow arched.  
  
  
“Infested roots, trying to turn me on?”  
  
  
Willow’s cheeks blushed even more and she couldn’t stop the grin from breaking out on her face.  
  
  
“Is it working?”  
  
  
Tara laid back down, moving at a slowly seductive pace.  
  
  
“Why don’t you check?”  
  
  
Willow gripped Tara’s thighs and moved so she was lying on top. She teased Tara’s lips by nipping at them lightly. She finally kissed her, gently slipping her tongue in just as Tara’s lips parted. Tara’s moan fell into Willow’s mouth, who greedily palmed the flesh under her hand.  
  
  
After just a few moments, Willow could feel that Tara was indeed turned on as it slipped out onto her thighs. Her fingers inched forward to dip into Tara’s folds until the kiss was abruptly stopped.  
  
  
“Willow—”  
  
  
“Yeah?” Willow asked breathlessly, immediately pausing all movements.  
  
  
Tara cleared her throat to clear the fog and gently reached for Willow’s hand, holding it close to their faces.  
  
  
“I love how these feel on my thighs,” she said, running her thumb along Willow’s smooth but jutting nails, “But maybe you could trim them a little before we keep going?”  
  
  
Willow’s eyes widened in horror as she looked at her hand.  
  
  
“Oh my god, I’m so sorry!”  
  
  
She jumped up like she’d been shocked and ran across to her ensuite in three brisk strides. There was some rustling and then Willow stood half in and out of the doorway, back to Tara as she clipped her nails into the trash.  
  
  
“It’s been…” she started, then looked over her shoulder with a blush and apologetic smile, “Well, you know how long it’s been.”  
  
  
Tara couldn’t help but smile.  
  
  
“I wasn’t going to ask, but nice to know.”  
  
  
There were a few more clicks of the nail clippers, then metal being thrown against metal as Willow scurried back to Tara. She slowed as she climbed on top again, neither of them seeming to care that they were still upside down.  
  
  
“As if I could even look at another woman after knowing you,” she said softly, “And I don’t just mean since Spain, by the way. I mean since the flower shop.”  
  
  
Tara reached up and tapped her fingertips against Willow’s jaw.  
  
  
“Me too.”  
  
  
Willow turned her cheek in to kiss Tara’s palm, then claimed her lips again, slow and tender.  
  
  
As it grew heated, she lightly scraped her now-shortened nails against Tara’s inner thigh.  
  
  
“Better?” she popped the words against Tara’s mouth in an evocative whisper.  
  
  
Tara’s lips quirked up on one side.  
  
  
“I dunno, you better test them properly.”  
  
  
Willow’s palm slid down Tara’s thigh until she could hook her girlfriend’s knee over her hip. Tara’s eyes started to cloud as Willow’s hand cupped her between her legs. She gasped as fingers slid along her and bumped against her clit, only adding to its engorgement.  
  
  
Willow felt herself clench at how wet Tara was; her fingers immediately coated without her needing to even dip inside. She rolled over Tara’s clit again and again until it was peeking out fully pink and Tara was gasping and grinding into her.  
  
  
Willow slowed down a little and let her fingers slide down until they were at her opening.  
  
  
“Okay?” she asked softly.  
  
  
Tara nodded breathlessly, her back immediately arching as Willow pushed inside.  
  
  
Willow dropped her mouth into Tara’s neck because she needed to be consuming her everywhere. She’d wanted and longed and ached for Tara for so long, her body craved a totality in taking her.  
  
  
Tara was displaying the same yearning as she pushed into Willow’s touch, taking it wherever she could get it. Her knee dug into Willow’s butt cheek so hard that it would probably leave a bruise, as their bodies came together again and again.  
  
  
“Oh god, Willow,” Tara panted, her body already coiling with the pressure of so many months of only partially satiated desire, “Harder.”  
  
  
Willow pressed herself even closer and really put her hips into it. Tara responded immediately, clawing at Willow’s back while her hips rose to meet each stroke.  
  
  
The steady rocking made them creep down along the bed, but they were both so engrossed they didn’t notice until they nearly toppled out. Willow grabbed the sheet at the last second and pinned Tara down with her hips, who let out a strained groan as it made the fingers inside her push in even deeper.  
  
  
“Come with me,” Willow said, then blushed even more in her flushed cheeks, “I mean, um, hold on.”  
  
  
Tara crossed her arms behind Willow’s neck and moved with her as she brought them back to the top end of the bed. They were right back where they started with Tara sitting in Willow’s lap. Tara spread her knees and brought their faces close enough to touch.  
  
  
Willow quickly got back to what she was doing and started to curl her fingers now she could see the reaction on Tara’s face so closely. She dropped kisses on Tara’s mouth, their lips smashing together and pulling apart with every rolling thrum of Tara’s body.  
  
  
Finally, Tara’s breath hitched and her mouth rested, open, against Willow’s.  
  
  
“I…love…you…”  
  
  
Willow felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up and a warmth filled her body at the same time as it fell from Tara and down her wrist.  
  
  
Everything was still for a perfect moment, then Tara crumbled against her, moaning into her mouth.  
  
  
Slowly, Tara moved away, her forehead still shining with sweat. Her legs stretched out under her, while her upper body stayed slumped against the headboard, just about supporting herself. The sheet was draped over her chest and one knee bent, making the lower half of the sheet ride up and expose her opposite calf and the defined muscle. Her tattoo was bright against the white sheet.  
  
  
Willow’s gaze was directed there for several moments until it finally rose to meet Tara’s eyes as she caught up with her breath.  
  
  
She smirked at the utterly spent look on Tara’s face.  
  
  
“Was that good?”  
  
  
Tara’s head lightly knocked against the headboard and one eyebrow arched in Willow’s direction.  
  
  
“You know it was.”  
  
  
Willow scooted in so they were close enough to share breath.  
  
  
“I like it when you say it.”  
  
  
Tara gently sucked Willow’s bottom lip into her mouth.  
  
  
“You make me come—”  
  
  
She breathed the rest of the sentence against Willow’s lips as a cell phone began ringing from somewhere on the floor.  
  
  
Her eyes closed at the interruption and she sat back, while Willow, with a scowl, threw the covers off and went to find wherever her phone had fallen during their swift undressing.  
  
  
She fumed when she got to it and listened to the voicemail.  
  
  
“What part of ‘holiday weekend’ does work not understand!”  
  
  
Tara blew out some air and scooted down a little more in bed.  
  
  
“I would have thought professors would have been taking all the time off they could. Half of mine barely showed up to class when I was in college.”  
  
  
Willow fired off a text she would regret later when her samples would continuously be ‘mislaid’ and turned her phone off.  
  
  
“Professors, yes. Neurotic grad students…not so much. Hello, molecular structures can wait ‘til Monday. We even call it Molecular Monday! Everyone takes turns and brings in something they cooked using—” Willow started to rant, but stopped with a blush when she saw Tara’s eyes slowly closing, “Sorry. I go on sometimes.”  
  
  
Tara smarted and immediately sat up straight.  
  
  
“No, no. I like when you ‘go on’,” she said, deeply apologetic, “It’s not you. My flight was early this morning.”  
  
  
She cupped Willow’s cheek and ran her thumb over the jawline there. Willow leaned into it.  
  
  
“Well, some sleepiness is allowed. Have a little nap. I did and I slept in this morning,” she replied easily, “You must be starving too. We missed lunch but we can get an early dinner in a bit if you want.”  
  
  
Tara nodded, her hand gracefully falling from Willow’s face, down her neck, and to the bed. She brought it to her own face and gently slapped her cheek.  
  
  
“I have to go collect my bag. I don’t want to be taking up their space. I know Anya has stock everywhere from Black Friday sales.”  
  
  
Willow twirled her finger.  
  
  
“Lie down. Close your eyes,” she said tenderly, “That is a demand, not a request.”  
  
  
“Okay,” Tara succumbed, slowly sinking down in the bed until she was lying fully.  
  
  
Willow brought the blanket up over them and curled into Tara from behind.  
  
  
“Are you okay being the little spoon?” she whispered.  
  
  
Tara smiled lazily.  
  
  
“I am right now,” she murmured.  
  
  
Willow cuddled in, fingers loosely linked and hanging in front of Tara’s belly. She felt Tara’s breath even out pretty quickly and closed her eyes to enjoy just breathing together for a few minutes.  
  
  
She’d thought of this moment often; dreamed of it as she cuddled her pillow at night, longing to bury her face into Tara’s neck and smell the last of her perfume sweating off her skin.  
  
  
She took advantage of the opportunity to make her dreams come true and gently nuzzled her nose under Tara’s ear. Her scent was even sweeter than Willow remembered; like all of the exposure to the fresh flowers had permeated her skin and made her smell like an early spring morning.  
  
  
Her fingertips brushed over Tara’s stomach, sinking in lightly until she felt muscles, ever-so-slightly tightening on an inward breath before relaxing again.  
  
  
The last time they’d fallen asleep together, Willow had literally passed out at the break of dawn — she didn’t even remember doing it. One moment she was cresting the wave of the countless number of orgasms she’d had that night, the next she was waking up alone in strained sheets. She hadn’t gotten the chance to enjoy this peaceful moment.  
  
  
In a way, she was grateful. Getting to experience it now, knowing they weren’t on the verge of parting…it was more than a peaceful moment. It was just peace.  
  
  
She stayed there until she almost fell asleep herself, at which point she made herself get up. Though she would have been happy to settle there all day and all night, she wanted to get things ready for their date — their first, real not-on-vacation date, technically, which seemed so odd considering how intimately they’d weaved themselves into each other’s lives over the last few months.  
  
  
She left a kiss on Tara’s temple and snuck out, throwing back on the clothes discarded amongst various points of the room.  
  
  
With one last lingering look at Tara’s semi-exposed back, she tiptoed down the stairs.  
  
  
Her heart caught when she saw the squashed bouquet Tara had brought for her abandoned on the floor, missing many of its scattered petals. She lifted each one up and held it in her hands for a moment, wondering what to do. She definitely didn’t just want to toss it but it wasn’t in any condition for display.  
  
  
She brought it into the living room and got out her special notebook that she used to write Tara’s letters. She pressed it between the sheets and smiled as she tucked it away in it’s drawer again, knowing she had it safe.  
  
  
She took a quick look around and figured she better straighten up before Tara viewed the rest of her house.  
  
  
Luckily, she was a tidy sort so only had to spend a couple of minutes fixing a few things neatly while her coffee was brewing. There was a skip in her step as she moved around the living space. She picked up the book she’d been reading when Tara had knocked at the door and just smiled at it.  
  
  
“You’re not being finished anytime soon,” she said as she tucked it back onto her book shelf, “Your prose was lacking anyway.”  
  
  
She called the restaurant and made a reservation, asking for a particular table by the window. She lucked out that there was still plenty of availability, with most people home for the holiday.  
  
  
The scent of coffee alerted her to the fact that hers was ready. She grabbed her travel mug and filled it up, then picked up her keys and walked out of the house through the back door. She locked it again and made her way through her backyard to the side street that her car was parked on.  
  
  
She took a swig of the coffee and enjoyed as it settled warmly in her stomach. It was a quick drive to where she was going, a route she normally walked unless it was late. She arrived at the door and gave it a knock. It opened promptly.  
  
  
“Oh,” Willow said, clearing her throat, “Um, hi Anya.”  
  
  
“Willow,” Anya replied with not-quite-repressed disdain, “Xander’s not here. And I don’t have time to entertain, it’s one of the biggest shopping weekends of the year. I have to get back to The Magic Box.”  
  
  
“I actually came to get Tara’s bag,” Willow explaining, her cheeks tinging pink, “She’s…taking a nap.”  
  
  
Anya's lips pursed into a thin line.  
  
  
“Well I hope you’re giving her adequate orgasms,” she said with her nose upturned.  
  
  
“I hope they’re more than adequate,” Willow scoffed, then her brow creased, “Did she say something?”  
  
  
Anya just rolled her eyes and stepped aside.  
  
  
“Her luggage is over here.”  
  
  
Willow stepped inside, and the bag was sitting against the wall right inside. Willow lifted the handle and pulled it behind her. She paused before she walked back out.  
  
  
“I hope that we can…try to get along. You know, now that our significant others and best friends are all intertwined.”  
  
  
Anya considered it and eventually shrugged one shoulder.  
  
  
“I guess she could have worse orgasm friends.”  
  
  
Willow was genuinely touched.  
  
  
“Thank you, Anya.”  
  
  
She went in for a hug, but Anya recoiled.  
  
  
“What are you doing?!”  
  
  
Willow immediately stepped back.  
  
  
“Yeah, no, too much, too much,” she replied, clearing her throat, “Thank you for the bag. Um. Bye.”  
  
  
She pulled the bag out of the apartment and down the pathway until a voice called after her.  
  
  
“Don’t forget the importance of good oral health.”  
  
  
Willow spun on her heels, alarmed and brought a hand up to her mouth, blowing into it.  
  
  
“Does my breath stink?”  
  
  
“No, but if your cunnilingus game does, Tara shouldn’t have to suffer,” Anya retorted.  
  
  
Willow’s cheeks flamed and she jerked the suitcase into movement again.  
  
  
“Yep, going now. Bye!”  
  
  
She hurried to the car and put the bag in the trunk, then sat back into the driver’s seat and banged her head against the steering wheel.  
  
  
“Why, Tara, why? Xander, I get, but you’re smart!”  
  
  
She forced herself to breathe it out and forget about it, determining that she loved Tara a thousand times more than she could ever hate Anya. She made a couple of quick detours on the way home, picking up some good food and wine for the rest of the weekend.  
  
  
When she arrived back home, two grocery bags in one arm and wheeling the back behind her in the other, Tara was up and in the kitchen, sipping on a cup of coffee in an old t-shirt of Willow’s that reached her mid-thigh.  
  
  
Willow brightened when she saw her.  
  
  
“Hey, you’re up.”  
  
  
Tara stepped forward and took the groceries, leaving them on the counter.  
  
  
“Oh, you got my bag,” she said when she saw it, and kissed Willow on the cheek, “Honey, thank you.”  
  
  
“No problem,” Willow replied bashfully, her eyes raking in Tara’s exposed legs, “You found my old college tee.”  
  
  
“Do you mind?” Tara asked, pulling gently at the hem as if to cover herself a little more.  
  
  
Willow pushed herself up against Tara, who backed up against the counter.  
  
  
“I wish I had a slightly-too-big men’s button-down, you would look so great in that...and only that.”  
  
  
She slipped her hand under the t-shirt and rubbed Tara’s hip, noting she had opted against any underwear.  
  
  
“But this definitely has its appeal.”  
  
  
Her hand moved upwards and cupped Tara’s breast. She grinned.  
  
  
“Yup. Plenty of appeal.”  
  
  
“Appealing apparel,” Tara replied, not without her own seductive smirk.  
  
  
Willow’s hand moved back to her hip and Tara held her coffee mug between both hands, whilst looking out the kitchen window to Willow’s back yard. It was small, but well maintained and had a table and chairs set that she could see them enjoying a beer or a cocktail on a long summer evening, or an easy mid-morning brunch.  
  
  
“You have a nice yard,” she commented, smiling at the thought.  
  
  
Willow lifted the hem of Tara’s t-shirt and peaked beneath. Tara’s eyebrows lifted.  
  
  
“And just what do you think you’re doing?”  
  
  
Willow smiled coyly.  
  
  
“Well, you’re admiring my bushes…so I figured I should get to admire yours. Nice and neat.”  
  
  
She let the t-shirt hang loose again.  
  
  
“I think I’m going to need a closer look.”  
  
  
Tara’s eyebrows rose again as Willow sank to her knees, followed by her eyes fluttering closed as Willow’s head became a bulge under the t-shirt.  
  
  
Tara left her half-full mug in the sink just off to the side and bent her elbows so they rested on the counter behind her for support. She giggled as Willow’s hair brushed against her stomach, but it quickly quietened in place of a moan.  
  
  
She felt fingers curl around either side of her hips and hold her in place while Willow’s lips sunk into her. Tara’s tongue wetted her lips as they went dry and her hips jerked back against the door of the cabinet behind her butt.  
  
  
Willow’s short but still deliciously scratchy nails dug deeper into her hips and a groan vibrated past Tara’s lips. As Willow’s tongue came into play, Tara’s neck lolled back and she gently pushed herself forward to get it where she wanted it.  
  
  
Willow didn’t tease too long; her position wasn’t known for its superb comfort, especially on kitchen tiles. Her tongue coaxed Tara’s clit into a throbbing mess.  
  
  
Tara’s hands curled under the granite, knuckles turning white, as similar nail indents were left in her skin. Willow’s name buzzed on her lips as the orgasm rushed through her body, finally expelling it in a whisper as her toes uncurled beneath.  
  
  
Willow’s head popped out and she wiped her mouth on the t-shirt. She used the counter for leverage as she stood, stretching her knees out to dull the mild burning sensation. Her hair was mussed and her lips were still shiny and Tara had to pull her forwards to wipe the smug grin off her face with a kiss.  
  
  
She reached to unsnap Willow’s belt, but hands moved over hers to stop her.  
  
  
“Hold on, hold on,” Willow said, quite reluctantly, “I made us dinner reservations. We have to get ready.”  
  
  
She saw the momentary disappointed look on Tara’s face and it thrilled her to know it was in response to her having to remain fully clothed. She leaned in to whisper in Tara’s ear.  
  
  
“But don’t worry, we have all the time in the world after.”  
  
  
She moved so their noses bumped.  
  
  
“I wanna try that ‘together’ thing I seem to remember we were pretty good at.”  
  
  
“You think I’m going to sleep with you on the first date?” Tara teased softly.  
  
  
Willow drew her gaze back to meet Tara’s eye.  
  
  
“I don’t know what to call this date, but ‘first’ it isn’t…I think we’ve established that ” she said, then had to stop to swallow a lump forming in her throat, “I missed you so much. Way more than I had any right to.”  
  
  
Tara cupped Willow’s cheek gently.  
  
  
“You had every right,” she whispered against Willow’s lips, “I was always yours, Blossie.”  
  
  
Willow felt a swell in her heart, and then again down lower. She pushed Tara up against the counter again and all but mauled for a moment before making herself pull away.  
  
  
“Is dinner that important? We can order in,” she questioned, then physically took a step back, “Yes, yes, Willow, it is important. I’m going to treat you the way you deserve to be treated. Like a queen.”  
  
  
Tara was touched and ducked her head bashfully. Willow took the opportunity of not being distracted by Tara’s beautiful face to force herself away. She grabbed Tara’s luggage by the handle again and started to bring it upstairs.  
  
  
Tara followed behind as Willow walked further down the upstairs hallway to the guest room, which she opened and wheeled the bag into.  
  
  
Tara leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed loosely over her chest and seemingly amused.  
  
  
“If you’re being a gentlewoman by putting me in the guest room…”  
  
  
Willow leaned in, unable to resist a peck.  
  
  
“Just to get ready. You’ll have your own bathroom and I can at least pretend to ‘collect’ you.”  
  
  
Tara pushed away from the frame.  
  
  
“I accept the gesture.”  
  
  
Willow walked towards the door.  
  
  
“I’ll pick you up at 7 o’clock sharp.”  
  
  
“I’ll be ready,” Tara vowed, grinning.  
  
  
Willow closed the door softly, with a parting wave and walked back to her own bedroom. She looked at the messy sheets and her smug and very satisfied grin settled back on her face.  
  
  
She smoothed everything out, ready to be messed up again when the evening progressed. When the bed was made, she sat on the edge and ran her hand over the spot where Tara had been lying, still lightly indented with her form.  
  
  
She shook her head, still in shock. Tara was here, in her house, had been in her bed and was staying. Had come for her. To be with her. It was astounding and flabbergasting and surreal and so unbelievably right all at once.  
  
  
She didn’t underestimate the gesture of faith Tara was making for them, and for herself, and planned to help and be by her side every step of the way. She was so very glad Tara already knew and had lived in the area. It made the transition back so much easier, especially as they navigated their new relationship. Learning how to physically fit in each other’s lives was just as important as the emotional bond they’d spent the last months building.  
  
  
Willow let herself have a few more moments of awe before she snapped to attention and made her way into the bathroom. She put the shower on and undressed while it warmed, then stepped under the spray. She washed and took care to condition her hair because she remembered Tara liked to play with it and she, in turn, liked it being played with. At least with Tara’s fingers.  
  
  
She shuddered as she remembered Tara’s fingers and got distracted for a moment until some suds entered her mouth and pulled her back to the task at hand. She finished showering and spent the next little while rooting through her closet while the cord of the blow dryer stretched to allow her multitask.  
  
  
Finally, after choosing a little black dress as the most appropriate non-first-date-first-date attire she owned and making a little effort with her makeup like Buffy had shown her a couple of times, she slipped on a pair of beaded white sandals and went to stand outside the guest room door.  
  
  
She looked down at her watch and had three minutes and seventeen seconds until the specified time, so she just stood.  
  
  
After a minute or so passed, the door opened and Tara’s head peeked out.  
  
  
“Hey.”  
  
  
Willow couldn’t help but smile.  
  
  
“Hey.”  
  
  
There was a lull before Tara spoke again.  
  
  
“I heard you come up to the door,” she explained, followed by another lapse of silence, “Are we waiting for something?”  
  
  
Willow started to blush.  
  
  
“It’s…it’s not seven.”  
  
  
Tara offered a wink.  
  
  
“I like punctuality. I don’t mind if you’re a little early.”  
  
  
“Oh, okay!” Willow replied, straightening up with a grin.  
  
  
When she didn’t move from there, Tara closed the door, which Willow promptly rapped on.  
  
  
Tara opened the door properly this time, revealing herself in a dress similar in style to Willow’s – to the knee with some exposed back and short shoulder sleeves, except hers was red and had a lace finish. She wore matching red heels.  
  
  
Willow was visibly bowled over.  
  
  
“You look…” she started, just stunned, “You are a revelation.”  
  
  
Tara’s cheeks turned pink as she held her clutch to her front.  
  
  
“Well, I think you look absolutely delectable.”  
  
  
Willow joined in on the blush.  
  
  
“You should save those kinds of compliments for the food.”  
  
  
“I have enough appetite for both,” Tara replied, her eyes falling down Willow’s body momentarily.  
  
  
Willow’s ankles turned inwards in delight and she offered her arm.  
  
  
Tara linked in so their elbows locked and they headed downstairs. After Willow grabbed her purse and jacket they walked out the back again to Willow’s car. Tara stopped by the gate that led to the sidewalk to softly, almost tenderly touch the petals of the flowers growing there, before leaning in to inhale the sweet scent.  
  
  
“Lilium Orientalis,” she recited as if she were saying the name of a fond friend, “Stargazer. Beautiful flower.”  
  
  
“I picked it for the name,” Willow admitted, then added on sheepishly, “A gardener did the actual work.”  
  
  
Tara straightened up again.  
  
  
“You like to stargaze?”  
  
  
Willow smiled.  
  
  
“I’ve been known to.”  
  
  
“Maybe we could bring a blanket out here some time and ponder the skies,” Tara suggested, as she walked through the small gate Willow opened for her.  
  
  
“Do you follow the constellations?”  
  
  
Tara nodded.  
  
  
“I’ve even made up one or two of my own.”  
  
  
“I look forward to you teaching me,” Willow replied, stealing a cheek kiss that made them both melt.  
  
  
Willow chivalrously opened the passenger side of her car for Tara before getting in on the driver’s side and pulling away from the curb.  
  
  
At a stoplight, Tara began gently tracing the outline of Willow’s hand on the ‘two’ position.  
  
  
“I have thought about these hands so much…”  
  
  
Willow overlapped her pinky on Tara’s index finger.  
  
  
“This may sound really dumb, but thanks for telling me about my fingernails earlier,” she said, turning her gaze to Tara for a couple of seconds before the light turned green, “Not just because I never want to hurt you, but because I want to know what you need. In bed and out of it. I really appreciate communication.”  
  
  
Tara’s eyes fell downward.  
  
  
“I know I didn’t handle all of this the best—”  
  
  
“I wasn’t talking about that,” Willow cut her off quickly. “That was an exceptional circumstance and I 100% understand. I’m just saying I hope we can be upfront with each other going forward. I’ve never felt like this. I want to give it everything we’ve got.”  
  
  
Tara felt her heart, mind, and body stimulated all at once and it became abundantly clear that she was heading into something that could be the making of her life, or utterly destroy her. Even if it had been a 100:1 chance that the latter would come true, Tara would have willingly tumbled in head-first. Willow was worth the chance. But she felt it in her bones that at that moment in time, she was exactly where she was supposed to be.  
  
  
“I want that too,” she said finally, “I’m in for everything. The good and the not-so-good. I know that we’re dropping ourselves into a relationship without spending much time together…but I also feel like you know better than any other soul has ever known mine.”  
  
  
“Tara, I…” Willow’s voice cracked and she had to blink a few times to pull herself together.  
  
  
She paused and very quickly brought Tara’s hand up to kiss before gripping the wheel again.  
  
  
“You mean more to me than anyone ever has. And I will work my ass off to make sure you know that.”  
  
  
She nodded once, resolutely, with her eyes still on the road.  
  
  
“Man, now I really need some tacos.”  
  
  
Tara laughed and it made Willow giggle too. They arrived at the restaurant which only had a couple of other people in it. They were seated by the window, under the soft lighting of the candle on the middle of the table.  
  
  
Willow held the seat out for Tara, and the waiter held Willow’s out for her.  
  
  
“Can I get you, ladies, some drinks?”  
  
  
“I’m driving, so no sharing a bottle,” Willow said, then grinned, “Of course unless I just have the one glass and you have the rest.”  
  
  
“I’ll take a pass on intoxication tonight,” Tara replied in a tone that was both innocent and promising, “I’ll take a frozen margarita.”  
  
  
“And I’ll take a half-strength one. And a pitcher of sweet tea, thank you,” Willow answered, then slid her menu to the side of the table, “I know what I want, do you need to look at the menu, baby?”  
  
  
Tara was busy sending googly eyes in Willow’s direction over the use of the pet name to register she was being addressed.  
  
  
“Oh! I’ll get the chicken fajitas and the black bean salad, please.”  
  
  
The waiter noted it and looked to Willow.  
  
  
“Can I get the carnitas tacos with pinto beans; two crispy, two soft and the cilantro and lime rice. Thanks.”  
  
  
He took the menus and disappeared, even faster in their eyes than out of the dining room, because they were just grinning goofily at each other. They didn’t even realize their drinks had been set down, that was until there was a knock on the window that made them both jump. A leggy, blonde was smiling through and waving excitedly.  
  
  
Tara’s hand came up to slowly wave back and the woman began to make her way towards the door.  
  
  
“Oh,” Tara said suddenly, “I didn’t tell anyone but Anya I was coming back.”  
  
  
“Ex?” Willow asked, with a deer-in-the-headlights look.  
  
  
“No,” Tara shook her head quickly, “I swear.”  
  
  
The woman came into the restaurant and made a beeline for Tara, who stood to hug her.  
  
  
“Tara! Oh, it’s so nice to see you.”  
  
  
They embraced for a few moments, then Tara gestured in her friend’s direction.  
  
  
“This is my friend Corinne,” she explained, “We were in college together.”  
  
  
Willow stood to shake her hand politely and introduce herself, but a sense of familiarity hit her first.  
  
  
“Do you work at the Espresso Pump?”  
  
  
“I did during college,” Corinne replied, then smiled with a look of recognition, “I think I remember you. You used to come in with the short, blonde quippy one.”  
  
  
“Buffy,” Willow clarified off Tara’s sidelong glance.  
  
  
Tara nodded once.  
  
  
“This is Willow.”  
  
  
Corinne nodded politely, then gripped Tara’s upper arm.  
  
  
“I was so sorry to hear about your mom,” she said sincerely, “Are you back for a visit or back for good?”  
  
  
“Back for good,” Tara clarified, unable to help a smile in Willow’s direction.  
  
  
“Fantastic,” Corinne replied, pleased, “We’ll have to catch up. I miss our chats in the Bronze. I miss you being my ear when Dwayne is being an idiot, I miss setting you up!”  
  
  
Tara’s eyes glanced to Willow and Corinne’s widened.  
  
  
“Oh!” she exclaimed, “Oh, my god I’m so sorry. I'm just so surprised to see you…”  
  
  
“It’s fine, really. I just haven’t had a chance to get in touch with people yet,” Tara explained, “But you can, um, find me on Facebook.”  
  
  
Corinne’s eyebrows rose.  
  
  
“Wow, things have changed,” she said with a smile, “Well, great. I’ll send you a message.”  
  
  
She smiled at Willow.  
  
  
“Nice to meet you, Willow.”  
  
  
Willow lifted her palm in a wave, unsure what to make of that exchange. Tara and Corinne said goodbye and Tara sat back down.  
  
  
“So…” Willow spoke after a moment, “She seemed surprised that you were on a date with me.”  
  
  
“Just that I landed someone so beautiful,” Tara answered smoothly.  
  
  
Truthfully Tara was embarrassed because she’d only come out to her close friends like Anya, and only then because she'd been outright asked. It has just been an area of her life she kept separate to her friendships. Her initial coming out experience had scarred her more than she liked to admit.  
  
  
Willow seemed to accept the compliment, which had also been truthful.  
  
  
She was pensive for a moment to gather her own thoughts.  
  
  
“I was in the Espresso Pump every day…The Bronze every week.”  
  
  
Her hands fidgeted with the napkin in her lap.  
  
  
“Our circles have been so intertwined and it took us this this long to find each other.”  
  
  
Tara reached across to take Willow’s hand.  
  
  
“But we did.”  
  
  
Willow looked up and smiled.  
  
  
“We did,” she answered, then continued softly, “I think we always will.”  
  
  
Tara returned the tender smile.  
  
  
“Sorry for the interruption. Don't worry about her. She's just a pal, she doesn't know me that well.”  
  
  
Willow shrugged one shoulder.  
  
  
“It’s okay. You’ve been gone for a year, I know you’ll have lots of catching up to do. I can’t hog you.”  
  
  
Tara threw a sly wink across the table.  
  
  
“You can hog me a little.”  
  
  
Willow blushed some, but happily. She played with Tara’s fingers for a few moments, then brushed her thumb against the ring on the right index finger.  
  
  
It was really beautiful; a cushion-shaped diamond with smaller round garnets set either side and five diamond side stones decorating the front portion of the ring before the white gold clasp hid behind the back. Every bit of it was gleaming.  
  
  
“I love your ring,” she said, turning it ever so slightly around Tara’s skin, “I was actually admiring it earlier but then…the surrounding fingers became a little bit more interesting.”  
  
  
Tara straightened her hand out and looked down at it.  
  
  
“It was my mom’s. She called it her freedom ring.”  
  
  
“That sounds like it has a story attached,” Willow replied grinning, but it faltered at the ashen look on Tara’s face, “But not one you have to tell me.”  
  
  
Tara shook her head.  
  
  
“No, no, it’s…” she paused to collect herself, “It’s nice to talk about her.”  
  
  
She took her ring off and held it in front of her, the stones glinting against the light of the candle.  
  
  
“She bought it on the one year anniversary of divorcing my father, with money she’d saved from her own paychecks that weren’t whittled away on my father’s alcohol addiction,” she explained, remembering going to the store to pick it out together, “She knew the wedding ring was a fake so she’d never had a real ring before.”  
  
  
“No engagement ring?” Willow questioned.  
  
  
“I was the engagement ring,” Tara replied dryly.  
  
  
“Ah,” Willow nodded.  
  
  
“A situation I believe led to his first marriage too,” Tara replied with obvious disdain, “Some people don’t learn from their mistakes.”  
  
  
Willow was bewildered for a moment.  
  
  
“No matter what, you’re not a mistake. The world is better for having you in it,” she said to Tara emphatically, who she saw take in and accept the compliment, “So your mom got sick of his philandering ways and finally kicked him to the curb?”  
  
  
Tara shook her head.  
  
  
“No. Unfortunately, it took an attack on something she really loved to get her to see sense.”  
  
  
“What?” Willow asked, though her tone indicated she already knew and was angry about it.  
  
  
“Me,” Tara answered affirmatively.  
  
  
“He attacked you?” Willow almost spat, “You said he didn’t respond very well to you coming out but I didn’t know he hurt you.”  
  
  
Tara nodded with pursed lips. She paused for a moment; this wasn't a story she enjoyed telling. But if she were going to tell it to anyone, it would be Willow.  
  
  
“He was home one day when I came home from school. Which was odd, because I basically never saw him. He’d go to the bar after work and stumble in after I went to bed. His first words were ‘your mother told me about your perversions’.”  
  
  
She paused to take a sip of her margarita and it definitely helped sweeten what was an otherwise sour story.  
  
  
“In his defense, he didn’t start hitting me right away,” she joked, “He waited until I refused to get into the van with the ‘counselors’ from the pray away the gay camp.”  
  
  
Willow’s eyes nearly bugged out of her head.  
  
  
“Holy shit.”  
  
  
Tara nodded.  
  
  
“Yep. One of the neighbors had called my mom to tell her there was a commotion happening outside…luckily the store was so close to the house because they were literally locking me in when she arrived.”  
  
  
Willow had to force herself to pick her mouth up from the floor.  
  
  
“I don't even have words.”  
  
  
Tara smiled, one that was soft but reached deep behind her eyes.  
  
  
“My momma rocked though. I had never seen her flip out like that,” she said, brimming with pride, “The camp people fled immediately and she — literally — kicked him out. He must have had a boot print on his ass for days. She went to a lawyer the next morning, they were divorced in six weeks. She got the house because she agreed not to press charges. She let me decide. I spoke to my therapist and just wanted to forget it happened. She became such a happier person. The years we had in between have really been filled with amazing memories.”  
  
  
Willow let Tara take a few moments to enjoy her memories before speaking.  
  
  
“Sounds like a family of brave, strong women.”  
  
  
Tears sprang to Tara’s eyes. Willow felt her heart break.  
  
  
“Tara…”  
  
  
Tara’s facial muscles tightened for a moment and she had composed herself again after a quick swipe of her eyes.  
  
  
“I’m just sad she’ll never meet you,” she croaked out in a broken voice.  
  
  
Willow was at a loss, but Tara wanted to move on anyway. She fixed the ring back on her hand.  
  
  
“So tell me about your dysfunctional family,” she said, her joviality not entirely forced, “No flower crowns this Thanksgiving?”  
  
  
Willow needed a moment herself to process everything, so took a sip from her glass too to allow her the time. A few seconds gazing at Tara’s sweet, expectant face was enough to pull her out of her own head.  
  
  
“Three words I never want to hear again: turkey-shaped brooch,” she said, her hands lifting in a gesture of frustration, “She is relentless.”  
  
  
“I guess it’s nice to be obsessed with a family dinner,” Tara replied kindly, “Better than something destructive.”  
  
  
“That’s the thing, it is destructive,” Willow said sadly, “She’s obsessed with her image, not Thanksgiving. I actually heard her ranting about how much she hates Thanksgiving once. It’s all just a… façade. I hate having to deal with it.”  
  
  
She immediately looked stricken.  
  
  
“I’m sorry, I don’t mean to come across like I take my mother for granted. I can’t imagine going through what you’ve gone through,” she said, before adding on with a deep swallow, “I just wish I had a happy family life to surround you with.”  
  
  
“You do,” Tara replied softly, “You’ve told me all about your friends, and your adventures with them. They’re your family.”  
  
  
Willow’s lips blossomed into a slow smile.  
  
  
“Yeah, they are.”  
  
  
They both silently contemplated each other for a moment until their food arrived. They swapped some of each other’s to taste and after a few minutes of eating, a hiccup lifted from Tara’s throat. After a moment, there was another and Willow giggled.  
  
  
“Okay, this is embarrassing,” Tara admitted, “I get the hiccups when I eat chills.”  
  
  
Willow’s face was one of pure delight.  
  
  
“That is so stunningly cute.”  
  
  
“Aha, but I also have the cure,” Tara replied, like she held the secret to the origins of life, “Twelve seconds, constantly sipping.”  
  
  
She poured a glass of the iced tea and held it to her mouth, silently sipping for twelve seconds exactly.  
  
  
“No way that works,” Willow scoffed, especially when Tara hiccupped mid-drink.  
  
  
But sure enough five, then ten, then twenty seconds past and no more hiccups arose.  
  
  
“Whoa!”  
  
  
“Every time,” Tara replied, only slightly smug, “I usually use water, but anything flat will work.”  
  
  
“That needs to be studied!” Willow exclaimed, then grinned wryly, “Hey I’ve been looking for a Ph.D. topic.”  
  
  
Tara’s eyebrows rose suggestively.  
  
  
“I’ll be your willing subject, Dr. Rosenberg.”  
  
  
Many, many images pushed to the front of Willow’s mind, so much so that she was only able to return a squeak.  
  
  
“Thanks.”  
  
  
Tara knew what she’d done and reveled in it. After a moment their eyes locked and Willow knew Tara knew. It was a feverish kind of intimacy to know your exact thoughts were being read but Willow wasn’t scared. She leaned in, physically and emotionally.  
  
  
“Save that thought for later.”  
  
  
Tara raised her glass in a silent toast, which Willow returned. They continued their meal, mostly discussing Tara’s plans and Willow figuring out what ways she could help best. It was very relaxed and very needed; a reconnection of minds and voices after so long of imagining the other speaking as they read their words.  
  
  
After dinner, they went to the beach for a stroll. Tara held her shoes in one hand, and Willow’s hand in the other. There was no else around but the lapping waves at their feet and the moon full in the sky.  
  
  
Willow cocked her head to look at Tara and how the moonlight caught the golden hue of her hair.  
  
  
“Every time I look at you I see a new angle where you’re even more beautiful.”  
  
  
Tara’s head ducked, watching the footprints there were leaving in the sand. It was a warm and reassuring feeling to see a set in a perfect set with hers, steadily by her side.  
  
  
They reached the end of the stretch of sand and Willow sat herself down, knees up to her chest.  
  
  
“Beautiful night, beautiful lady…yep, I’m in heaven.”  
  
  
Tara sat beside Willow and they gazed at the shimmering horizon for a little while. After some time passed, Tara took Willow’s hand and angled herself towards her.  
  
  
“I have to admit something to you about what happened with Corinne.”  
  
  
Willow’s face dropped into a pout.  
  
  
“She is your ex isn’t she?” she said, making a pained expression. “Oh god and she’s so hot.”  
  
  
“No, she—” Tara started to reply, then arched an eyebrow, “You think she’s hot?”  
  
  
Willow’s eyes widened.  
  
  
“Oh, not me! I, I was just saying…” she pursed her lips and swallowed deeply, “Nothing, I was saying nothing. You were saying something. You should speak now.”  
  
  
Tara’s eyes narrowed slightly.  
  
  
“Anyway,” she said pointedly, “What I wanted to tell you, was: she was surprised because you were a girl.”  
  
  
Tara could see the surprise on Willow’s face and gave her a moment before continuing.  
  
  
“I’m not in the closet and I’ve been open with any friends that have asked, but it’s not something I lead with and have kept close to myself.”  
  
  
“Oh,” Willow replied.  
  
  
“I want you to know I fully intend to be out with you,” Tara said quickly, “I don’t want to hide any part of who you are to me. I want you to be reassured and know what’s going on, and I want you to know I meant it when I agreed to be upfront with each other earlier.”  
  
  
Willow nodded to herself, then smiled.  
  
  
“Thank you for communicating that with me,” she said, squeezing Tara’s knee, “But really, thank you for opening up. It’s not a problem. We'll work it out.”  
  
  
They leaned in and met for a kiss, lingering for a long time. Eventually, Willow thought of an opportunity to return the trust Tara had just offered her.  
  
  
“Wanna go on a little adventure?”  
  
  
Tara slowly met Willow’s gaze, as her lips quirked up on one side.  
  
  
“Ooh, is this a ‘fuck it’ list moment?” she teased gently, “Do I get to join in on the escapades now?”  
  
  
“Hey you did the biggest ‘fuck it’ of all,” Willow replied, nodding her head once and bumping her nose against Tara’s in the process, “You came back.”  
  
  
Tara rested her hands on Willow’s shoulders.  
  
  
“Funnily enough, that’s pretty much what I thought when I read your letter,” she said softly, “Fuck it. I love her. I’m gonna go get my girl.”  
  
  
Willow crossed her wrists behind Tara’s neck and kissed her soundly.  
  
  
They kissed for several more minutes under the private and romantic backdrop, until Willow’s hand linked with Tara and pulled her towards the rocks.  
  
  
“This way,”  
  
  
Tara followed Willow until she started climbing the rock formation. Tara glanced at her bare feet, then at the shoes swinging off her fingers and stalled.  
  
  
“Honey, these aren’t rock-climbing shoes.”  
  
  
Willow looked back at her and jumped back down. She took off her sandals and held them out.  
  
  
“What about your feet?” Tara asked with a creased brow.  
  
  
Willow waved a hand dismissively.  
  
  
“It’s fine, I was a barefoot kinda kid. I’ve stood on more than enough Lego to recreate this rock pile. Really. I’ll carry your shoes.”  
  
  
She took Tara’s heels and was jumping back onto the rocks a moment later. Tara slipped the sandals over her feet and cautiously followed her. It was surprisingly solid and she found her footing quite easily.  
  
  
The rock pile backed right up to the overlooking cliff, of which there was an official trail for one to hike if they wanted to get to the top. Willow, however, was going nowhere near the official trail and was just walking further and further out onto the rocks jutting out into the sea.  
  
  
They were coming to the edge, so Tara figured they were about to loop back, but instead Willow made a jump down to the next ledge.  
  
  
“Willow,” she said, avoiding glancing down at the crashing waves, “This looks dangerous.”  
  
  
“That’s why it’s an adventure,” Willow replied cheeringly, then added reassuringly, “Don’t worry, just keep your back to the wall.”  
  
  
She saw Tara’s skepticism and offered her hand.  
  
  
“It’s worth it, I promise.”  
  
  
Tara’s heart was pounding a little, but she took Willow’s hand and carefully lowered herself the step or two onto the ledge that led to the cliff-face. She slowly inched her way around, one hand holding Willow’s tight while the other palm gently scraped along the rock behind them.  
  
  
Tara had to admit, it was quite exhilarating. They reached the far side of the cliff-face and when Tara looked up, she saw nothing but solid rock wall. However, when Willow had her duck behind a broken column, she suddenly came face to face with a giant hole in the structure, leading down into a cave.  
  
  
There was a weathered rope ladder nailed inside, which Willow began to climb down.  
  
  
“Come on!”  
  
  
Tara followed, slightly wary, but it wasn’t very scary down there. The space was enclosed, like a small contained room, maybe thirty square foot in total. Sand littered the floor, making it soft underfoot, and when you ducked down there was a beautifully angled view of the stars and at that moment, the moon. They were covered overhead, so they would be protected from any condensation that was to fall from the sky. It was a perfectly hidden little cavern of nature and Willow had been right; it was worth it.  
  
  
“Wow,” she said as she stepped off the ladder.  
  
  
There was just about enough room for them both. Willow went into the corner and produced a camping lamp to give them some dim light. It was clear she was a regular visitor.  
  
  
“How did you ever find this place?”  
  
  
Willow took her jacket off and laid it down on the sand. Tara did the same and they sat down together.  
  
  
“When we were eight, Xander chased me up here and threw my favorite Barbie as far as he could,” Willow explained with a roll of her eye, “I went searching and she’d landed in here. I tried to tell people about it but they never listened, so I forgot. Then one lonely night when I was a teenager I was brooding over Xander discovering girls and not having time for me and I decided I was glad because all he did was destroy my Barbies anyway. Then the memory came forward and I went exploring. Nearly broke my neck, but I found it.”  
  
  
Tara shook her head at such a young Willow going on the journey they just went on.  
  
  
Willow didn’t seem to notice, she was too busy glancing around with a fond smile.  
  
  
“I love it here,” she said softly, peacefully, “I put the ladder in and brought the light. I started to bring my homework here after school and my books to study in college.”  
  
  
Tara kept her mouth shut, sensing Willow just needed to talk. Willow continued after a moment.  
  
  
“My parents worked away a lot when I was growing up…eventually, they just left me in charge of myself,” she said, her voice tinged with sadness, “The house would be so quiet…the silence was deafening.”  
  
  
Her face was pained.  
  
  
“But here…” she said, the pain clearing quickly, “The silence was soft and peaceful and tranquil.”  
  
  
Her gaze flittered towards Tara’s eyes and she leaned in so their cheeks brushed against each other.  
  
  
“But I wanted to show you… because now I want my silences to have your breath in it,” she whispered.  
  
  
Tara made herself keep Willow’s gaze, despite the shudder that racked up her spine.  
  
  
“I don’t even care if that was just a line.”  
  
  
“It wasn’t,” Willow replied, almost sharply, though her tone softened again, “I’ve never brought anyone here before.”  
  
  
Tara leaned in so their breath was close enough to mix. She took Willow’s hand and put it on her thigh, sliding it up under her dress.  
  
  
“If you want me you can have me.”  
  
  
Willow didn’t have to think about it for too long.  
  
  
“Fuck it,” she breathed, pulling Tara’s bottom lip between her teeth for a moment, “Or in this case…fuck you.”  
  
  
She leaned in for a fresh kiss, but suddenly pulled back alarmed.  
  
  
“I mean I want to, um, have carnal relations with you, I’m not telling you to fuck—”  
  
  
Tara silenced Willow with a kiss and pushed them down on top of the stretched out jackets. Willow cupped both of Tara’s cheeks and pulled her closer.  
  
  
“You do have the nicest way of saying ‘shut up Willow’.”  
  
  
Tara hushed her again and pushed up the hem of Willow’s dress beneath her. She pushed her fingers against Willow’s panties, which easily soaked through. Willow moaned into Tara’s mouth and slipped her hand under Tara’s dress too, palming her buttocks and the backs of her thighs. It didn’t take long for her to feel wetness start to spill out onto Tara’s skin either.  
  
  
They did an awkward shimmy of panty removal while trying not to roll off the jackets, but finally, two pairs were kicked off the end of their ankles. Impressively, they’d managed not to break their kiss despite the wiggling.  
  
  
Tara hiked her own dress up around her hips so their thighs would slide together. Her hand dipped between them and her fingers slid over Willow’s clit. Willow groaned and quickly returned the favor.  
  
  
Tara slipped inside Willow and brought more arousal out, which she slipped back over Willow's clit. She pushed her hips a little bit as a hint and Willow understood, filling Tara too and embracing the muscles that were yearning for her and pulling her in again and again.  
  
  
There wasn’t much room, but that just made it hotter; wrapping them up in their own heat they were emanating.  
  
  
Their lips were pretty much just vibrating against each other at this point as they just tried to push each other over that final little bit.  
  
  
Willow’s other hand was running against the small of Tara’s back, but she needed more grip as she started to break through the haze. She slipped out and yanked the zipper down to its end point above the curve of Tara’s ass. Finally, she felt the full clenching of release inside her and raked her nails down her girlfriend’s smooth back.  
  
  
Tara let out a keen moan as she threw her head back.  
  
  
“Willow!” she called as a fast-paced orgasm ripped through her.  
  
  
She dropped back down onto Willow’s body and took a few moments to catch her breath. They slowly disentangled and ended up pressed up alongside each other, staring out into the abyss above and listening to the silence of each other breathing.  
  
  
As they stared out of their rock cocoon, Tara began rubbing her thumb over Willow’s upper arm, just keeping them in contact with each other.  
  
  
“Is this where you come to stargaze?”  
  
  
“Sometimes,” Willow replied, though her gaze wasn’t entirely focused upwards, “I usually don’t have other beauty to distract me.”  
  
  
Their lips met again for a sweet nuzzle, then Tara sat herself up to smooth out her hair and rub down her dress. She gathered her hair to one side and turned her back to Willow.  
  
  
“Do you mind?”  
  
  
Willow slowly zipped Tara’s dress back up, admiring the red marks she left. She left a kiss on Tara's shoulder.  
  
  
“Somehow dressing you is almost as fun as undressing you.”  
  
  
Tara reached for both sets of panties and handed one off to Willow, who looked at the lacy red pair in confusion.  
  
  
“Um…”  
  
  
“Oh,” Tara replied, smiling as she switched the pairs, “The smiley faces should have clued me in.”  
  
  
She pulled her own panties up her legs and lifted her hips to secure them.  
  
  
“Wow, I think I managed not to get any sand in uncomfortable places.”  
  
  
“We’ll have to bring a blanket next time,” Willow commented casually.  
  
  
“Oh, you have me once in your secret cave and you think you can get into my secret cave whenever you want?” Tara teased, then winked.  
  
  
Willow finished fixing herself up as well, and they took another moment to appreciate that the other one was there. It had been such a long time coming.  
  
  
“You wanna go home?” Tara asked softly, giving no second thought to her automatic use of the final word.  
  
  
Willow leaned in and rested her head on Tara’s shoulder.  
  
  
“I’m already there.”  
  
  


  
  
The next morning, sun filtered in through the hastily-closed curtains of Willow’s bedroom. and cast a glow against the two naked bodies twined together in bed.  
  
  
They were ensconced with a sheet lazily draped over; barely pulled up before they had collapsed into slumber together. Clothes were dropped in piles and two close-to-empty wine glasses flanked them either side on the respective nightstands, with an entirely-empty bottle sitting alongside one of them.  
  
  
Birds were chirping on the tree outside, the lack of any other sounds highlighting their song as people took a Sunday sleep-in away from cars or chores.  
  
  
The only other discernable sounds were two sets of breathing, synced.  
  
  
Willow’s eyes opened but her body seemed to sense the stillness and didn’t disturb their embrace. Her nose brushed gently against the nape of Tara’s neck and she inhaled the sweet morning scent emanating from her girlfriend.  
  
  
Their chests continued to rise and fall together, each soft heave filling Willow with an intense feeling of belonging. Willow had been asleep moments ago but it only took those few seconds to know she was where she was always meant to be.  
  
  
She felt her love flourish deeply in her heart as she, finally was granted what she'd been denied too many times:  
  
  
Awaking with Tara curled up in her arms.


End file.
